newnevermind-sanity · 1 year ago
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Actually I think I do want to ramble a little more on the subject.
While I do love making buzzsaw jokes (especially after completing Path of Pain, like, the fuck?) I do also think the layout of the Dream White Palace wasn't intentional. If he did it after that horrible cry came out of the Black Egg temple the first time when Holly was starting to crack, he must've been in a fucking state.
Like imagine you convinced yourself that what you're doing is for the greater good, that this being that you do love (even if you're denying it to yourself) that you thought was emotionless, a blank slate, only does as is told, has no hopes, thoughts, aspirations, merely exists, suddenly with one cry proves you wrong.
Just imagine that horrible realization that you were wrong about them (you always were, you ignored all of the signs they were alive) and you damned them to a fate worse than death. Eternal imprisonment sucks too, but since they're an unfeeling creature, it's fine, right? Nope. Definitely not. It was not fine, even if they were an unfeeling creature, but now it's even worse because the infection is eating at them now.
All of those children left to die in the abyss? That all happened for nothing.
Those dreamers you made to sacrifice themselves to keep people out? They're now the only thing holding the vessel inside of their prison but they sure as hell are not containing the infection. That too was all for naught. Your daughter lost her mother for no reason.
You did this all to save so many people, your entire kingdom of Hallownest. You choked down the guilt of your decisions because it would save the kingdom. Now you find out it was for nothing.
I think anyone would break, and break the King did.
By that point, there was no one left to stop his spiral. The White Lady was gone, most of the knights too, his council, everyone. No one was left to stop him from making extremely irrational decisions, including putting his palace into the dream realm to flee from the infection along with anyone inside. As he runs into his throne, trying to somehow run from the guilt, the grief, the horror, the palace twists. It becomes extremely hard to follow him, almost impossible. He makes it to the throne, the Kingsmoulds loyally guarding the outside...
It's there he breaks. He spirals. He falls into a deep despair.
I personally think the Pale King died of grief, and with that death, left his surviving children the monumental task of cleaning up the mess left behind.
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ladyloveandjustice · 1 year ago
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To give my Real Opinion on the whole Clark vs Lois issue (since people are giving me theirs), I'm surprised it is an issue, since it's very clearly supposed to be an conflict where both people made decisions that made sense from their point of view but still hurt each other. It makes sense that Clark would be insecure about telling Lois this when she's acting distrustful of Superman, and it makes sense he'd freak out and not handle a situation where she was putting a lot of pressure on him well. It also makes sense that Lois would be angry (and probably humiliated) and upset that Clark not only lied to her face when she was begging him to tell her the truth, but left her where she couldn't help him when she was worried sick about him.
Honestly, I think a lot of you aren't being honest about how you'd feel if you had a friend who disappeared every time something dangerous happened, you spent a lot of time frantically searching and worrying about that friend each time, only to find out oh hey, your friend was well aware of how worried you were and was actually right there but they were pretending to be someone else instead of letting you in on what was happening. You'd feel played with.
And Clark also KEPT lying when she was basically saying "hey stop lying to me. I know." He did it instinctively. She was begging him to tell her, and he didn't. That's going to hurt, and that's going to be galling. She definitely felt she had no other choice than to do something drastic, because she can't enter a relationship with someone she knows is lying to her and here he is, refusing to come clean. She's a reporter, the need to know drives her.
"Lois isn't entitled to Clark's private information, they haven't known each other that long", sure, but Clark vanishes in dangerous situations and causes real distress, Clark has been discussing Superman with Lois and unconsciously trying to manipulate her feelings on him while not telling her the whole truth, and you'd feel weird if someone did that, you'd feel kinda violated! And even if someone told you they weren't doing that to laugh at you, wouldn't you be hurt and humiliated?!
When exactly IS Lois entitled to Clark's info? When they start dating? How many months is it okay for him to date her without him telling her he's actually the guy she spends every waking minute trying to interview? Would he have told her as their relationship got serious? Not knowing that is probably scary and if I was Lois I'd think twice about if I wanted this either!
And what's especially scary is that yeah, he did leave her behind to so he could possibly go get killed when she was begging him not to. That's terrifying. She was probably terrified the entire time she waited. He was able to take her choice away from her, and Lois does not like feeling helpless. Clark was scared of her getting hurt, so he enforced his will and so shewas scared for HIM. and then he refused to talk about those worries!
It's also pretty galling when she's already helped him out in several fights- she's proven she can be useful and helpful! I'd be mad too! I'm sure there was a little vindictiveness in her actions- you see how you like it when someone takes your choice away too.
At the same time, Clark is clearly not comfortable showing people his whole self. He still doesn't know who he is, and he goes into panic mode about it. He's very scared of people being hurt because of him. What he did made sense from his point of view. And I'm sure he's not happy to be forced to reveal his secret.
It doesn't matter 'who's more right'. It's not a game they get to win! They both violated each other's boundaries. Their feelings both make sense from their perspective, and interesting conflicts are complicated. And I like it when characters don't just react to everything flawlessly. There's a lot of drama in secret identities, and sometimes stories have conflict.
I do agree this should have happened later in the season or as a season 2 thing, but that's sadly just life in this streaming hell era. They didn't know if they'd get a season 2 to tell the story they wanted. We have to take the conflict as it is. And let's face it, if Lois had taken longer to figure out, y'all would be making fun of her for being dumb. Lois is for some reason always the butt of that joke even though nobody else can see Clark is Superman either- and when she does figure it out (as she usually does!) and has anything other than positive feelings about it she still gets blamed. Just enjoy having a character who can have complex feelings.
If you hate relationship conflict, there's stuff for you out there! Read Superman Family Adventures by Art Baltazar, it's very cute low stakes low conflict stuff and has an actual Himbo Clark.
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withthewindinherfootsteps · 2 months ago
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I love how so many interpersonal conflict in MDZS aren't caused by simple 'miscommunication' – they're caused by people being too quick to judge things based on rumours or one-sided information, without consideration for the actual evidence behind that.
The soup incident? JZX only believed the guest cultivator's side of things without consideration of JYL's words. 3zun's fate? LXC only considered JGY's side of the story, without considering NMJ's may have some truth to it (because in his mind, JGY had a justifiable reason for all his actions). Sunshot-era Wangxian conflict? LWJ believed the unfounded* narrative he was taught around what guidao does, contrary to what the only source of evidence was saying, and it's this that leads to WWX constructing a barrier between them. Their final confrontation at Nightless City? WWX came to the conclusion that LWJ was against him, hated him too, despite the fact that "any sane person would be able to tell that Lan WangJi’s voice was clearly shaking" (EXR, Chapter 78), due to his mental state at the time.
This same mindset is also leveraged by other people, for varying purposes – whether it be JGS blatantly lying about WWX's words in the hopes people would believe him, or NHS spreading false rumours about the man-eating castles at Xinglu Ridge in order to stop people disturbing the sabre spirits (of course he uses this mindset in his plan to utterly destroy JGY as well, both directly and to contribute to the view NHS is useless). And that mindset also creates the main driving antagonistic force – the rumour-driven mob mentality so present in the world.
I just love how present this theme (the harm of coming to conclusions based on incomplete evidence) is in the novel, even when it's not drawn attention to**!
(more discussion under the cut)
Now, there are obviously other factors to the conflicts above – and in most cases, these reactions are understandable (WWX's misreadings due to his mental state at Nightless City, for one thing, but others, too). For example there was evidence that appeared to be there supporting LWJ's views on guidao: WWX did appear paler, there would definitely have been differences in his health vs the health of those with a working Golden Core, and he was quick to anger and did seem more arrogant than before, even though that was moreso a combination of trauma and constructing an image that meant nobody would look into the matter of his Golden Core too closely. So argubaly, he did weigh the evidence he had, and it just led him to the wrong conclusion! But none of that means this aspect wasn't a major factor in those conflicts – just as it doesn't mean that LWJ didn't instantly disregard the other side of the story (WWX's words), and came to the wrong conclusion partially because of it.
That also doesn't mean the characters can't learn from this or change their conclusion – LWJ comes to accept WWX's words towards the end of WWX's first life, LXC does open up to the potential flaws within JGY when Wangxian raise it, and after he's seen NMJ's corpse, due to receiving strong evidence (the wrong melody and cleanly missing pages in the Collection of Turmoil, for instance). If he only started suspecting JGY after he shows his cards at the Guanyin Temple, he wouldn't have done things like block JGY from the Cloud Recesses, for instance.
(And, a final note: the problem isn't that these characters chose the 'wrong side' of the issue to see it from – their process would still have been flawed even if they came to the right conclusion from its other side. The problem here is that none of them consider both and weigh them up to judge.)
––
*Regardless of whether you believe guidao has an adverse effect on mental state, and it isn't just trauma – WWX is the inventor of guidao! So any pre-invention speculation about the effects of guidao was, by the word's definition, unfounded... and these teachings were certainly pre-invention! So though I do have an opinion regarding this, it doesn't affect the point.
**Chapter 30 is a good example of when it is: '[LWJ:] “One should not comment without understanding the whole picture.”' (EXR) – but it appears in many of Wangxian's actions throughout the present day section of the novel (especially in regard to teaching the Juniors).
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pareidolla · 2 months ago
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Saw your recent broken post - please I would love to hear more about the "anger and resentment" category!!
MY BROKEN COMRADE IN ARMS! YES, ANYTHING FOR YOU!
although i am wringing my hands in embarassment because the topic of broken's characterization is something i'm very passionate about, but i've complained about it before, and i don't want to come across as too whiny. i don't believe any one person should be seen as an authority on a character's portrayal, and i don't want to cause anyone undue stress. he's a video game character, it's not that serious.
that being said ⸻ broken is a very angry and bitter voice and i wish that was acknowledged more often!!!
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you're the one making things difficult, you're the one making us hurt.
even outside of the tower's pet line, the voice of the broken reminds me of an abused dog. a dog will fight you, naturally, but you are stronger, and if it is wise, it will realize resistance is pointless. you can harm a dog as much as you'd like until it learns to do whatever it takes to satisfy and stay your hand. only then will you reward it, and only then will the dog merely flinch between caresses.
but submission isn't love, and a dog still has it's teeth.
as a hardcore simp, i've read as many broken opinions and writing i can get my paws on, and i've noticed a tendency to depict him as someone who holds no animosity unless directly influenced by tower. in their eyes, he pathetically loathes himself and believes that the other voices are superior in every way.
i disagree with this because, to put it bluntly, broken literally hates everyone. canonically! he may be a sad little shelterdog deserving of many head pats but he's not soft with anyone. his sadness shouldn't distract from the fact he firmly believes the other voices are delusional in a hopeless situation. broken never shows admiration for anyone other than the princess, but he's obviously not always thrilled with her either.
who cares if you (narrator) think we're special? as far as i can tell, the only thing special about us is that we get to experience painfully dying all over again.
[we] can't even surrender right
he's (cold) even worse than her (nightmare).
i think the best demonstration of this is how people approach broken's regret over his actions during the tower route. he's usually portrayed as overly regretful and melancholy for stabbing the long quiet, which makes sense, but i'd like to remind everyone that we have his canonical reaction, and he doesn't care lmao.
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(literally my favorite broken line i must shamefully confess he sounds soooo hot here.)
which makes sense! broken is sorrowful, yes, but his more violent actions and words are motivated by an innocent desire to be safe. when he remains silent after being insulted or avoids conflict, it's not because he's afraid of the others, but because he believes it is safest for him to accept the hurt now rather than being inflicted with additional harm later. he's not going to apologize for attempting to save everyone when their futile efforts have now locked them into a cycle of being slain over and over by the princess's hands. like, literally the one thing he wanted to avoid.
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it's also why his relationship with tower makes me want to gnash my teeth against the bars of my enclosure. they aren't good for eachother but they're so beautifully entwined and and their dynamic is so...?
broken's soulmate isn't physically incapable of hurting him like damsel, but she isn't determined to hurt him like razor or nightmare. for the price of his everything belong to her, she's able to save him, melting his anger into adoration, and he's even willing to hurt himself endlessly for her. i'm gonna 'hrow up.
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not-goldy · 15 days ago
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https://www.tumblr.com/not-goldy/764350700052529153/jungkook-is-doing-fs-with-tae-and-jm-to-keep-both?source=share
Anon has a point though (before someone lynches me let me elaborate please), aside from what they pointed out he was with a girl at night back in February, and when asked about the existence of someone in his life months later what he replied was “I don’t have a gf now” + “I’m focusing on work” which could mean that at some point there was someone. I don’t think it’s crazy to come to that conclusion.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind if he’s queer or not, if he is I’ll always support him. Maybe I’m just being overly rational or pessimistic? At this point I don’t know where we should draw the line considering we keep saying we need to believe in his words/actions, because he indeed said all that in the Stationhead live.
I genuinely don’t care if he plays around with Taehyung, he has done that with Jin and Hoseok too and they are all family. However, for me if he is with Jimin but did all that with the girl from the video… I don’t know how I would feel about it. I know people are going to say I’m being heteronormative but let’s be honest guys, we don’t know his sexuality. Many think he’s gay but it’s just guessing, he could perfectly be bisexual (stop erasing bisexuality please 😭 it exists and it’s valid) and if he is attracted to women and acts like that within the context the sasaeng provided, EVEN thought he could be dating Jimin then it’s not looking good.
I’m sorry I know I sound annoying but I’ve been feeling conflicted for a while, I don’t rule out the possibility of being wrong though so I’ll actually like to hear other people’s opinion.
These days I try not to go back and forth with with rat heads over what is and inst a valid queer moment or relationship but since you are equally a joker I'll indulge you
No. You not annoying you just sound like you stretching. He did all that with the girl from a video- were they having sex in the video? What exactly is compromising about that even if that were him??
If he had female friends prey tell how do you think he relates with them? Walk around with a top grade fiber shield between them? You are seeing him relate with girls the same way he relates with boys and drawing different conclusions about it- what's rational about that??
If he back hugged Jimin and back hugged Tae you'd say he wasn't dating any of them but somehow if he did the same thing with a girl then he'd have to be dating that girl because somehow you expect him to relate differently with boys and girls.
Drop your logic in the toilet and flash it cos it stinks every where
And what do you need him to do to assume he's queer too??
I mean if all it stakes for him to be may be straight is to be seen back hugging a girl then there's plenty of photos of pictures and videos of him back hugging boys too. He must be queer too.
All it took for him to be dating Lisa was a a tattoo of an eye on his boy but somehow a tattoo of a name and several other symbols that conveniently spells out JM or point to JM can't be taken as a tattoo of a boy he likes on his body.
Y'all have a low standard for him to be straight and high standard for him to be queer is giving heteronormativity
Your talking about a made up story about vals day nonsense but let's ignore all the white day events the GCF in Tokyos let's conveniently side step that because it was years ago because being queer is time bound. Queer in 2020. Well it's 2024 and we can't be sure perhaps he needs to renew his queer validation card every year since it expires as time passes
I wonder if straight people marriages are valid each year or they need to be seen in wedding gowns each year for those marriages to be valid too and God forbid that the couples are seen interacting with members of other sexes.
I wonder if this shit goes down in straight ship spaces. are we still shipping Tom and Zendaya I mean are they even real the last time we saw them kiss was 10 years ago.
Equality is us invalidating straight relationships the same way straight people invalidate queer relationships.
If I don't see your boyfriends with a wedding ring reenacting your engagement proposal every night y'all not engaged and if the engagement is over four years- well that was then this is now.
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bigblab-talktotalk1 · 4 months ago
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This is what I call an opinion and training,
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Even though I've definitely watched this scene and heard other people's opinions enough to feel comfortable in what I feel about it (but we're definitely open for change).....I feel very much for Penelope. I relate to her, but not 100%...
(Given: the story in itself is a little thicker to swallow than in the book when she's like 28. That makes the whole thing seem a little less desperate because her fear of never being kissed seems justified in their society. But we play along.)
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Many people are turned off by what they see as Penelope begging Colin to kiss her. There's tons of complexities of this interaction I won't get into, but I feel there are plenty of reasons that people should feel able love this scene without as much conflict in their heart.
Pen's actions in this is scene are exemplary of some of what Colin loves about her. He can definitely relate to Penelope in this moment. That sad, hurt, out-loud expression of what she want to say (the internal battle of "I don't want to sound weak but I'm so hurt") when she asks to be kissed, that's bold!! You think Colin has never wanted to just like yell out to a brother, in tears like, "WHY DIDN'T YOU WRITE ME BACK??!? 😢😥Why DON'T I SEEM TO MATTER to you the way you almost HAVE TO matter to me?"
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(aka soft launching the experience of expressing his vulnerabilities with the enemy 🙄, because it's NOT EASY)
No he wraps that pain up in the easier solution. He puts up the façade and nearly alienates the love of his life pretending to be someone who MAY be criticized, but in ways that feel less personal. But Pen says "No" to that easy answer that will keep her where she is. She's trying to move forward, and as much as she's kept her Whistledown secret, that "I cannot tolerate a lie" line is one that sticks real good and hard to Penelope. 
So she asked him to kiss her. I think she's pretty aware that he doesn't have a clue how much she loves him. Or has loved him. But she also is just exhausted of that too. This is her giving up (I think that part well widely accepted).  But she knows what she wants and is standing in front of a resource to get it, so she ask for it. Even if it means she'll have to blush or cringe later. That's a badass woman.
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Of course we don't want her to beg. That's what's most sickening about the concept of being the 'pick me'. But every once in awhile some in-born confidence rises up against shame or embarrassment and reaches for something that is within her grasp even though she has no right to it. Penelope's always reaching for what society's telling her she can't have. And what she accomplish from that act of bravery???!?
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agentrouka-blog · 7 months ago
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I often see this sentiment that Ned should have told Cat the truth about Jon and it would have solved all their problems. I disagree with this? I don't think Ned was being an idiot for not telling Cat. I think there were a multitude of reasons of why he didn't tell her, and all of them held weight in his decision.
1) he didn't know or trust her when they got married
2) a secret stops being one if you tell even one person about it. He promised Lyanna he wouldn't tell anyone and that included everyone, except obviously the people already present at the tower (Howland and the wet nurse I presume)
3) there is a possibility that Cat's behavior towards Jon would have changed knowing he was not a result of Ned's affair, but her resentment towards him also provided a cover. If she treated him, say cordially, then it would have been very suspicious considering Ned was already fostering him at his own home.
4) after he came to know Cat, he would have realized that she was fiercely protective of her family, she wouldn't have thought twice before giving up Jon for her children if it came to that. A choice no sane person, including Ned, can fault her for. By not telling her, he removed that option for her, saved Jon and also saved her from the guilt that would have haunted her.
5) he was committing treason that would have endangered Cat and his children. In case it ever got out there was plausible deniability for his family that they didn't know and it might have saved them.
His actions hurt both Catelyn and Jon but it was a very complicated situation overall so I understand him too. I don't know what would have been the alternative because I don't think telling Catelyn would have solved anything. What is your opinion on this?
I don't think people generally claim it would have magically fixed "everything", but many also misunderstand how Ned is mishandling the situation. He isn't actually handling it well by himself, he isn't handling it the way he would have if Jon was actually his bastard. His inability to be "normal" about it and come up with a convincing lie created most of the avoidable problems we see, which is Catelyn's eternal insecurity about Ned's feelings for Jon (and his mother) which feeds her anxiety about her own children being usurped, plus Jon's complete trauma over knowing absolutely nothing about his mother. Both are left hanging for no logical reason from their POV, and that's an absolutely insane path for Ned to go down.
True, and then he chose to go the worst way about it and never fixed it later.
Howland knows. The Daynes know. Wylla probably knows. Benjen probably knows. Come on. And we don't know what she made him promise and it's more likely to be along the lines of protecting her son than specifically never telling anyone who could have helped him handle this better.
Catelyn being "nice" to Jon isn't even half of it. She could have advised Ned on how to handle the situation in a realistic way with the least harm done. Which is likely to foster Jon somewhere, make plans for his future instead of leaving him aimless, create a believable lie about his mother that doesn't shame him, have a harmoniously accepted situation instead of making his kids grow up with this unresolved conflict warping their emotional well-being.
What situation could realistically arise where Cat could "sell out" Jon to "save" her children that specifically depends on her knowing this and also wouldn't mean they are all already in deep trouble? It's nonsense. Also, Catelyn "Family Duty Honor" Tully would not fault Ned for wanting to save his sister's child. It's a perfectly decent choice on his part and a dilemma she could easily understand. Come on!
How is this (thin glaze) of plausible deniability not equally achieved by simply lying (and lying better than Ned can, especially)?
It's just that Ned left both Cat and Jon deeply anxious and traumatized, respectively, because his decision was to lie very badly and then refuse to answer all reasonable questions. It has repercussions for all of them. From Cat to Sansa to Jon to Robb.
Plus: Ned may have actually had an opportunity to heal from his horrific trauma if he had talked to literally anyone about it. He may have been less likely to cling to Robert as a vestige of his lost youth, blinding himself to the man's monstrous faults and sticking around to his own doom.
It would not have "fixed everything" but you can't convince me it wouldn't have fixed some things.
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least-carpet · 11 months ago
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Hiiii, if it's not too much, can you describe the biggest differences between the live action characters and the novel characters in MDZS? They are a lot, so I will love even the difference between few of them! I haven't seen the live action and I don't know if I will ever, but I am curious, considering all the meta. Anyway, thank you in general, even if you don't answer!
Hello anon! This has been in the inbox forever because there are soooo many ways to answer this! However, let me be transparent that I've watched maybe like 1/10 of CQL. Among other obstacles, I simply do not care that much about Lan Wangji and he's always there (even though Wang Yibo is giving it his all... it's not his fault I'm a hater...). Chewing through a book with Ms. Mxtx's commentary was just more enjoyable to me, and even then, to be honest, I still liked SVSSS better. (I just love Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu so much. That dude is wild.)
Still, the live action definitely affected how I understood certain characters (...primarily Nie Huaisang) and made me interested in relationships that I didn't pay any attention to in the novel. (I freely admit that the nieyao brainrot is 100% CQL's fault.) Also I found Wang Zhuocheng's Jiang Cheng very cute and loveable. It definitely contributed to my Jiang Cheng Brain Disease.
LISTEN. HE HAS BIG SAD EYES AND THE MEANEST SNEER AND HE MIGHT BURST INTO TEARS AT ANY TIME. HE IS A BABY. A baby who could kill you with his terrifying lightning whip! But a baby nonetheless, to me.
So if you want someone with a real and knowledgeable opinion on the live action, I'm probably not the right person for that! However, here's one difference that changed a bunch of stuff about the characters that I found compelling in the novel: the second flautist.
CQL adds Su She as a second flautist doing unorthodox cultivation in a couple of different places, including at Qiongqi Path, where he seizes control of Wen Ning and is therefore responsible for Jin Zixuan's death. Removing the responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death from Wei Wuxian creates a bunch of cascading character and relationship implications that I don't love.
Firstly, all of the people who cautioned Wei Wuxian against his unorthodox cultivation are now... wrong. If he never lost control, then actually his assessment that he could maintain control wasn't overconfidence, it was just true, and he was persecuted because the Jin needed a scapegoat and wanted the Yin Tiger Tally, not because his cultivation path actually involved significant risks and drawbacks. (To be fair, the Jins actively exploited those drawbacks, the public perception of his cultivation, and Wei Wuxian's failure to manage his reputation. But it matters whether the risks exist or are just made up.)
Secondly, removing his responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death transforms both Wei Wuxian's character and how we understand his relationships with Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Jin Ling. Because, in the novel, he kills Jin Zixuan under duress but also after a lifetime of conflict with him. Like, he hates the dude, he doesn't think he's worthy of Jiang Yanli, and he's not willing to examine his hatred and resentment even though Jiang Yanli loves Jin Zixuan and wants to marry him, even after she marries him and has a child with him. (I would argue that a lot of the resentment is because of the eventual marriage; by marrying Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan becomes legally recognized family to the Jiang siblings, while Wei Wuxian's relationship with them has no social recognition; I think Wei Wuxian is deeply threatened by that but can't articulate it.) It's a huge failure! Like, dude, you loved someone and you killed that person's beloved spouse. That points to a certain degree of repressed jealousy, possessiveness, longing, arrogance, the list goes on... I am so compelled by that conflict, and the adaptation just erases it.
This also affects how we read Jin Ling's relationship with Wei Wuxian. In one scenario, a teenage Jin Ling is (eventually, minus one little stab) ending the cycle of violence by not seeking vengeance for his father's murder. In the other, it was actually someone associated with Jin Ling's paternal family that killed his father, and he's maybe just... coming to terms with that? One of these scenarios is so much richer and more interesting.
How it affects the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian is a little more subtle. It locates the responsibility for a lot of the harm done to the Jiang siblings with the Jin sect, not with Wei Wuxian, removing some of Wei Wuxian's culpability in the devolution of his relationship with Jiang Cheng. If Wei Wuxian isn't guilty of wronging the Jiang family (and instead is also a victim of the Jin sect), then all of Jiang Cheng's rage and betrayal was misdirected. They were both tricked. In some ways, maybe that's easier to patch up after canon? (I wonder if this is why many CQL yunmeng shuangjie reconciliation fics have Jiang Cheng apologize to Wei Wuxian, but not the other way around?) But it's so much less interesting to me!
Finally, it removes Wei Wuxian's tragic flaw! Dude is legitimately a genius but he's got hubris coming out of his ears and it fucks him up big time! This is classic stuff. Please stop flattening my boy!!
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i-might-be-a-simp · 1 year ago
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I need your opinion, do you think Ron knew that Cale was no longer the same person?
I was stalking the fandom (as usual) and I saw a comment, by who I assume to be a new reader, wondering how Ron would react finding out Cale was actually KRS, that the child he watched grow wasn't actually the man he believes and it made me think a bit.
When I read tcf the first time, one of the things I was most curious about was all the odd looks Cale got in the first few chapters, and my biggest question was, surely a very sharp and experienced assassin who knew the know-hows of blending into different crowds would have immediately noticed that "Young master" was no longer the same person.
I'm sure you caught this too when reading, but there were many moments when Ron's expression turned odd after Cale did or said something.
Ron the whole first chapter:
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It starts by something he dismisses, such as Cale waking up immediately after Ron calls out to him, on the very first attempt. But as the chapter progresses, Ron gets more and more intrigued.
He notices how Cale says thanks after he receives water and when servants dress him. Along with his other odd actions, asking the date, repeating his own name, asking to go to the study, not breaking things etc.
And then finally, Ron gives him the ultimate test, the lemon tea. I think this was his way of confirming that Cale had changed. It proved to me Ron was definitely onto something.
Now this is where I need your opinion. From my interpretation of Ron's character, yes he "loved" ogCale or held at least a bit of affection for him. Let me pull up some receipts:
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^(sorry for light mode)
Although Ron treated him like his grandson he did not think Cale had a soft spot for him nor that he treated him like a person and never really took much interest in him aside from his duties.
And while I was doing a deep-dive I went on the wiki and saw this.
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So Ron saw ogCale, his situation and therefore pitied him, yet he thought of him as a helpless impertinent puppy, which is why he did not have much issue with following Beacrox who wished to leave with Choi Han in BOAH. But only after Cale changed is when he begin to be interested.
Now the question is, was the lemon tea experiment he did, just to test whether Cale had become aware of Ron's true identity, or was it to confirm Cale was a changed person entirely???
Personally I think it was both, and that Ron was aware from the very beginning. However this is where I am conflicted, because the idea of Ron watching that small boy become so big and smart is so satisfying to me, because the author wanted to paint this as a "cale finally stopped pretending to be a dumb oblivious trash and started to take matters into his hand" like it was all a plan cale had to hide his powers and get stronger in secret while acting unsuspecting. This is what the public believes and it sounds very cool but... hmm I wish we got a chapter focusing more on Ron's feelings.
Like I am aware he loves Cale very much and especially after getting the new arm he started to feel a sense of loyalty for Cale he didn't have before but the fact that he was one of the few people og Cale was very close with since he was very young, the fact that a whole new person was in the body is kind of not addressed in its full concept, this transition from no interest to loyalty was also a transition from og cale to krs cale so I wish we got more on it.
Thanks for reading my ramble. I love them.
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mallas28 · 1 month ago
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Why i think Horikoshi need some help.
So, sorry for my English but will try to explain my point of view why Horikoshi favor Katsuki Bakugo so much and doesn't like Izuku.
Problem is...Horikoshi really doesn't like Bakugo and He actually loves Izuku. But he is too afraid showing this. This is my opinion.
Reason for this is Horikoshis PTSD from his previous experience with Shonen Jump. As you know SJ has cruel practice closing Unpopular mangas without giving them any time to get popular. (Ironically this cruel practice lead SJ in bad condition they are now).
Horikoshi suffered from this deeply. He even stated in interview that he considered leaving manga industry and find other job. He even stated that he has nightmares about that times and waking up with horror thoughts that his manga will be closed. So this is only my POV, but i think Horikoshi has PTSD and need help..
You see, Shonen Jump is not very nice company. Its a horror place in reality. I don't know other shonen magazine which have so mant artists with ruined health. Which says a lot about their work atmosphere.. You could also read about their conflict with Dragon Ball rights to realize how they treat horribly their employees. For Shonen Jump mangakas is a trash that needs to be thrown out.. Nothing more.
So going back to Horikoshi. I think he doesn't like Bakugo as many claims. I nean doesn't like so much. He in reality loves Izuku at some way.
Problem is because of his past experience with Shonen Jump. Horikoshi become to dependent from popularity polls. And popularity overall. You could see that from his interviews. Like that villain academia (the best written arc in manga) was axed because lack of popularity. Or that Aoyama was supposed to be revealed traitor in Camp arc but Horikoshi was afraid it will low popularity. You could find many of them
So i think Horikoshi is so afraid of losing popularity that he try to please fans instead of telling his own story. Like he pushes Bakugo forward and forward excuses his actions because he is most popular. Meanwhile Deku seems on second place..
Also, I truly believe that Horikoshi originally planned different ending but SJ forced his to rewrite it in last minute. Just look hiw badly 430 chapter was written. No design changes, narration jumping and etc.
So because of Shonen Jump pushing him and because of dependent from popularity Horikoshis own story suffers a lot. Bakugo gets too much ridiculous spotlight. Horrible resurrection and no abuse recognition. Izuku sufferers as independent character. Whole story and almost all characters suffers because of that.
. Why we only see it in last arc? The answer is editors. First three Editors were the saviors for Horikoshi. They lead him in righg direction.
The last one... Imamura or whatever. I think he is the most horrible. Because he did nothing. 430 was not edited at all. Why he was put with Horikoshi? I don't know.
So i truly believe that if not Shonen Jump and Horikoshi PTSD we would get a great story. The only thing that could probably change Horikoshi behavior and point of view on Bakugo is the next film flop in box office. If next film will be dedicated to Bakugo i will be praying for it to flop hard . And SJ will lose money. Only that could make them think a little.
This is only just my point of view.
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khgne · 5 months ago
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I'm seeing a lot of arguments and opinions about these latest bnha chapters, asking fans why they thought Tenko would be saved and how it's consistent writting.
Needless to say these have been controversial chapters and I need to sarcastically rant my opinions about it.
You're right, why would we think Tenko would be saved just because Izuku wanted to save him. And shared that with Ochaco who also wanted to save "her villain". If we've been shown tenko was a parallel to Yoichi and a victim of AFO, and his entire worldview was based on AFOs abuse. If this manga was showing us the humanity behind villains and openly questioned if killing them was the best or fair outcome as we saw with Twice.
But you're so right, why would the fans think that Tenko would survive when every other version of "Tenko" from Horis previous works - of which this character was based on - was saved and given a second chance? After revealing that decay is half of overhaul and showing multiple characters having a quirk awakening this arc. Why would fans think that despite all the Mt. Fuji and Butterfly (death/rebirth) symbolism? Forget "win to save, save to win", "a perfect victory!", "changing fates and wishing energy!". Forget "his friends are waiting for him" or "I want to save that little boy!". Forget "OFA IS A POWER MEANT FOR SAVING, NOT KILLING. ALL MIGHT TAUGHT ME THAT". Let's ignore Toshinoris words: "The citizens...heroes...villains...I need to light the way for all of them."
"But Tenko didn't want to be saved!",, and his entire anger against society revolving around the fact that nobody saved or helped him when he needed as a child, is proof of that. Yes, he was angry that Bakugo received immediate help and he questioned why he didn't, and yessss AFO gave him the decay quirk on purpose so that neither he can reach out to others, or others can reach out to him (in a manga that uses hands as motifs and metaphors) without getting destroyed and also adding to the idea that Tenko was born evil; but like, he kept fighting the heroes so of course he didn't want to be saved, duh.
Also, Izuku challenging the vestiges ideals and opinions of killing Tenko for multiple arcs now?? His argument that despite OFA being created to stop AFO, it could be given a new meaning?? Yoichi agreeing with Izuku and saying how happy he was that Toshi and Izuku held OFA?? That was just for fun! No meaning in those scenes!
Sero was so right going on about tragedies not being necessary, only for the story to end exactly in a tragedy. And of course that villains should pay for their crimes and killing them is better than letting them rot in jail, that's exactly why so far, every villain Izuku encountered has been killed! Oh wait no, they...actually got arrested.. mm okay.. But it's not like they could ever atone for their actions, it's crazy giving them a second chance!.... so let's ignore Nagant, Stain, or Gentle and La Brava.
And yes, of course the heroes have learned that villains are people too, and are victims that deserve a helping hand after so many arcs showing and telling us that from a bunch of characters, which is why their decisions and the way they handled a lot of villains!....didn't change at all.
Kurogiri was killed/shoved aside like an inconvenience to the heroes while pleading AFO for Tenko to be returned; and Tenko was killed for being loyal to his friends and wanting to destroy the status quo so the LoV and others could live better. All of these done with no hesitation or internal conflict from Izuku, so as you can see, very different from Hawks vs Twice. Ochaco got to connect and talk Toga out of it, and Shoto got to talk and come up with a plan to stop his brother, and both (plus Enji) begged their villain to stop because they didn't want them to die; so it makes perfect sense why Izuku, the compassionate mc that wants to save everyone, would do the exact opposite.
This kid went in there with no plan at all and it shows! (I guess he really forgot what Nighteye told him about his arrogant thinking). Because ever since the vestige world, Izuku gave up on Tenko and decides the best thing to do is to kill him. No trying to call out for Tenko and reach him, no reaction to AFOs trump card, no internal conflict with deciding to kill Tenko, no trying to explain to Tenko in the vestige world that his friends are trying to help the LoV too, no introspection on Tenkos words of wanting to be a hero to the villains, no guilt as he gives the final punch, no hesitation in shoving aside the one other person that also wanted to save Tenko (and wasn't attacking, only talking) so he could punch him again, and no communication with his fellow heroes to explain the situation of AFO taking control of Tenko again or the fact that Tenkos life and worldview are all bc of AFO. And I call that,, being completely in character for Izuku don't you think?
And of course Hori couldn't help himself and also try that with Toshinori. So that's why we have the one character that always hides behind a fake smile say that maybe if Tenko wasn't crying anymore it's because he was saved. (Out of sight, out of mind, just like what the civillians did when Tenko was a child looking for help) Toshinori, the symbol of peace who sacrifices himself constantly to save others, who felt guilty for failing Tenko, who wanted to save him since Kamino, who was emotional over Izuku wanting to save him as well, who was distressed to see Stain "the hero killer" die, who struggles with the will to live beyond his hero persona, is now emotionless and parroting the idea that "killing can be a way of saving" about Nanas last relative and fellow victim of AFOs, and I think that makes absolute sense. Let's have the same man whose teaching methods consisted of beating and traumatizing Toshinori as a kid, be right! (And listen, I'm one of the few ppl that absolutely love Gran, but that man has always been wrong about this).
And yes, the themes set up of:
- villains (and heroes) are human and more than their role that hero society forces on them;
- Izuku (and others) want to break the cycle of abuse and how villains are perceived and treated by society;
- Izuku wants to be a hero that gives a helping hand and saves everyone and Tenko wants to be a hero to the villains (both of them want the same thing at its core just in different ways);
- save to win, win to save; changing fate; etc.
- giving second chances to ppl to atone their wrongs regardless if they're villains or heroes because they don't have to let it define them (Aoyama, Nagant, Gentle and La Brava, Endeavor, Bakugo, Hawks, etc.);
Definitely work with the decision of death is the only way to save villains.
So yeah, you're so right that anyone that thinks these recent chapters went against the themes, is stupid and wrong. And it's us that see 'saving' at a very surface level right?
But really now, these latest chapters have been a disappointment and left me wondering what even happened for the story to suddenly go against everything it has been setting up so far.
Some of the criticisms are an overreaction, but most are valid and there's merit in discussing them.
Izuku flip-flopping between in-character and out-of-character; Killing Tenko and claim his heart has been saved despite giving him no closure regarding his abuse, quirk, or origin; The weird decision to mention and not show the off screen moment that develops Nanas character and her relationship with Tenko; Izukus lack of emotion and introspection about his decision;
Why have Izuku defy and disagree with the adults that told him to kill Tenko, to suddenly have him kill Tenko? Why have Izuku want to give a new meaning to OFA and break the cycle of abuse by "smashing that lid", if in the end OFA remains as only something to destroy AFO, and he behaves the same way every hero before him has. Why criticize hero society for the way it creates villains, and show them as victims that can be given a second chance to help and atone, only to say that after all, killing them is how you save them because they can't be helped. Why make izuku the compassionate kid that wants to understand villains and is willing to offer them a helping hand, if in the end he kills the same "crying child" he wanted to save for multiple arcs, because he was loyal to his friends and ideals.
If Tenko died still believing AFOs words that he was made to destroy, then did he really get full autonomy from AFO? Is he really free from his abuser if he still believes every word he was told?
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familyagrestefanblog · 1 year ago
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Chat Noir in THAT moment of "Revolution"
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May I say with every inch of my heart: fucking THANK YOU Adrien for speaking up to give the governmental and systemically oppressed civilans who think themselves the helpless victims of a normal but highly corrupted, extremely dangerous and selfish person in their mayor’s position an actual VOICE.
And he even did it in probably the savest and most orderly way as well, which ensured that Chloé can neither use the citizens’ reaction against the people themselves nor dismiss it overall because every other approach but EXACTLY what Adrien did here would have resulted in some variation of a chaotic sea of voices and opinions contradicting and clashing each other in various degrees of intensity, favoritism, audibility and spoken CONTENT, in an environment where people could have then freely spoken against and FOR Chloè too.
Ladybug and Chat Noir showing up in a political situation like THIS to get the people on their side to rise up against the corrupted mayor by taking full control of the whole situation should have been an almost IMPOSSIBLE feat to accomplish this quickly and smoothly in execution because a political scenario like this is a literal MINEFIELD as we saw at the end of the last episode. One wrong word and everything could have ended up in total madness that would have either taken a serious amout of time and effort to get back under control or outright through FORCE (or both)
But Adrien was just out here and did it in 5 seconds FLAT.
Thank you Adrien for taking the massive value of your status as Chat Noir into your own hands and acting as the politically most competent and most effective fucker in this entire mess of a situation (besides Lila but that’s a given) as Chloè’s true foil in this entire episode.
You know I would never use the word “perfect” to describe Adrien as a person but I’ve gotta be honest, the way so many massive delicate factors of how to approach not only a political conflict but a full on governmental escalation like this - were a whole sea of angered people have to be lead to speak as a unit - were immediately NAILED with this ONE perfectly timed and worded sentence and this ONE striking hand gesture was pretty fucking close to perfection. Ladybug and Mayor Chloé were having a hero-villain akuma pissing contest of moralities and Chat Noir just pulled all of that back into harsh reality with one swift action to actually give the power back to the people. Let’s fucking GO!
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That was the most effective, competent, responsible and situation-appropriate (and that in corrupted POLITICS) leadership action being taken in the entire episode and it was done in 5 seconds flat by Chat Noir who eagerly wanted to intervene since right the beginning of the episode. No wasting time holding a speech, no unnecessary hero smack talk, no showmanship and no personal verbal morality battles. Just using his status to act as a leader for the civilian people so they can join him to act as one strong unit no matter their age, voice volume, body height, strength etc, 👏it 👏did👏 not👏 matter. 👏
(only people without arms would have been excluded, if you really wanna nit-pick)
He did everything so fucking RIGHT in that moment. Through providing them with a clear-cut language and morality standpoint from his part - without making it about himself-, an easy and situation-specific & very fast, universal and practical but also very impactful way to communicate their game-changing opinion for this ONE specific point he names very forthright and that calls the problem right out on it’s core, so Chloè and the people who support her have no wiggle room to shut it down or dismiss it through pocking holes by claiming people could have misinterpreted what he meant.
5 fucking seconds. PLEASE make it entire episodes!
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minnaci · 4 months ago
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okay. whipped out my laptop again for apology tour. same disclaimers apply: i'm not a hellaverse blog (or, if i am, i'm very much in denial about it), i enjoy the show and the characters, and my opinions are informed by my personal lived experiences. apology tour spoilers ahead.
i've done a lot of scrolling through comments and posts since watching apology tour and, while many good points were made, i'm not sure that any of them sufficiently sum up how conflicted i feel about this episode. i'll try to hopefully stumble my way into a coherent analysis.
full warning, it will be blitz-centric, but there is enough nuance in my heart to be sympathetic to stolas, too. both of them fucked up! i just happen to identify more strongly with blitz.
tldr: the showrunners said it best. stolas is not quite as self-aware as he should be, and blitz... is blitz. cw for spoilers and discussions of american racism (particularly antiblackness) and classism.
this crux of the issue in apology tour continues to be miscommunication, which is heavily influenced by 1. both blitz's and stolas's pasts and 2. the sociopolitical context in which they operate.
1 . STOLAS
stolas was a victim of emotional neglect in his childhood, and then a victim of his emotionally abusive wife in his adulthood. he, as he so aptly implies in apology tour, has never truly felt wanted beyond what he could provide to his family. one of the only times we have ever seen stolas happy was at the circus as a child, where he developed a fleeting, parasocial admiration for blitz.
in this way, stolas is painfully, achingly relatable. while he grew up in a disgusting amount of material wealth, he has been deprived of the one thing you cannot buy with money: unconditional love. he yearns for the type of romance he reads about, the type of passionate desire that he watches in his telenovelas, and when blitz comes along— the one, shining memory in stolas's otherwise dull childhood— stolas falls into the fantasy.
and that's exactly what it is. in the beginning, stolas doesn't really want blitz. he wants what blitz represents— a charming, seductive figure to ravish him, to hold him close, to show him that he is desirable and make him feel wanted. it's a fantasy at the price of the key to stolas's job— a fantasy that is, from an outsider's perspective, easily explained by racial fetishization. more on this later.
to stolas, it's a small price to pay. the grimoire, a token piece of power to the goetias, in exchange for the one thing that stolas has always wanted? sign stolas up! stolas has never had to worry about his livelihood, nor his safety— not in any way that matters. not in any way that blitz would have had to.
stolas is ignorant. he is naive and unaware of how the world works. this remains true when he falls for blitz, when he plans to "set them free" (a la "when i see him"), even after he confesses and his fairy-tale fantasies come crashing down around him. he is not in a place where he can comprehend the effects of class on his relationships because it is not something he has ever had to consider before.
all that said, none of that invalidates the way that stolas feels when blitz explodes at him in full moon. stolas setting his boundaries at the beginning of apology tour ("i feel uncomfortable when you talk to me that way") is valid. it's actually an example of communication gone right in this episode, in that stolas explicitly communicates how blitz's actions make him feel.
his resultant upset when blitz keeps pushing him and antagonizing him is similarly valid. his decision to go to verosika's party is valid. my main point here is: while i don't particularly enjoy stolas's actions in full moon or even in apology tour, i can empathize with wanting to be wanted by someone so badly that it basically ruins your life.
again, stolas is ignorant. he lacks self awareness. he is emotionally immature and lacks empathy. but the message here isn't "rich people can't feel heartbreak", at least for me. the message is "even though he is hurt, stolas needs to understand that his actions have consequences, and that blitz experiences relationships (and the world) in a fundamentally different way than stolas as a product of the differences in socioeconomic contexts in which they were raised."
2. BLITZ
oh, blitz. where to start? this is where i admit that there are a lot of similarities between the way blitz and i grew up, and a lot of similarities in the ways that we view relationships now (read: i may project a bit. apologies in advance).
from when he was young, blitz has learned that the only successful type of love is love that is transactional. he loved his mother, and she died in a fire he started. he loved fizz and barbie, and he ruined their lives. the only "successful" love he has experienced is love where he provides something (read: gets "used") and receives something in return. so, unless he can provide something of value to his partner, blitz prefers to keep it casual. in blitz's mind, people don't care about blitz, and people shouldn't care about blitz. loving blitz has always been a recipe for disaster, because in his perspective, if he can't provide something to his lover that offsets the destruction that he causes, then he's not worth it.
it's normal for blitz to feel used. it's normal for blitz to feel less-than, or unwanted, or unloved, and it hurts blitz less to believe that. sex is fun. he can "do sex", and he can do sex good, and maybe to him, that's all that he can do good. he certainly can't hold down a relationship. his employees only care about him because he provides a stable source of income. his daughter only cares about him because he gives her shelter. it's normal. blitz feeling hated is normal, and the normalcy brings him so much comfort that he purposefully pushes people away to maintain that awful, vicious cycle of a status quo. it's a self-fulfulling prophecy.
blitz's approach to stolas in the beginning of apology tour is his desperate bid to return to normal. stolas being so short and angry with him is almost comforting— blitz knows how anger feels. he knows how hate feels. stolas is just another person who finally, finally realized what blitz knew all along— love is something that isn't possible for blitz, because he always fucks it up (at least in his perspective). and if stolas lets blitz fuck him, lets blitz provide this service to him, then maybe, blitz can "earn his way to earth" (read: "earn" stolas's affection back). affection, to blitz, is something for him to work tirelessly and endlessly to receive— a sisyphean affair. he is not ever intended to actually receive it.
stolas doesn't recognize this. stolas doesn't even try. but in stolas's defense, blitz doesn't exactly make it easy. i may empathize with blitz, but i think i would also be a little less prone to empathy if the object of my affections mocked my feelings by brushing them off in favor of sex and then screaming "GAY" in my face when i refused.
the rest of blitz's apology tour is borne out of pettiness towards stolas, because in his eyes, stolas is the one who wronged him. stolas was the one who accepted the rules of engagement with blitz (i.e., a transactional relationship: the grimoire for a bit of fun, kinky sex). stolas is the one who has all the power. stolas is the one who can choose to ruin blitz. stolas is the one who ruined the good thing they had going.
except... blitz doesn't really believe that. deep down, subconsciously, blitz knows he loves stolas, and by being in love, he's done to stolas what he did to his mother, to fizz, to barbie: ruined his life. maybe, if blitz could seduce stolas and make their relationship transactional again, he could correct their course and save stolas the pain of believing that blitz is deserving of love. it's a trolley problem: pull the lever, and blitz is the only one who gets hurt. let the trolley continue, and stolas will inevitably get caught in the crossfire of loving blitz.
blitz can handle a little pain. he handled it when his mother died. he handled it when fizz hated him. he handled it when barbie left him. he handles it over and over again, being used as tool for sexual pleasure or physical violence. he earns his pain, just as he feels he must "earn" the grimoire. just as he feels he must "earn" the little tokens of stolas's affection.
as an aside: the grimoire is more than a symbol of blitz's livelihood. it's a physical representation of the stark difference in class between blitz and stolas, as well as a representation of the transactional nature of all of blitz's relationships, not just the one between him and stolas. it is one magical book among thousands that the goetias own— a veritable drop in the bucket of the immense power, wealth, and influence that the goetias, and by extension, stolas, wield. that same book which is inconsequential to stolas and the goetias is everything to blitz. without the grimoire, he loses his job and everything that comes with it, including (in blitz's transactional view of relationships) millie, moxxie, and even loona's companionship. but i digress.
it's been said before that there is nobody who belongs at the blitz hate party more than blitz himself, and it's true— there is nobody in hell who could hate blitz more than he hates himself. because as much as he might present himself as a little dumb, he's anything but. he knows what he's doing will destroy him. he knows if he continues to do what he's doing, he'll "die alone", which, in some ways, is what he fears more than anything. he even tells verosika that he "doesn't want to be like this forever", but he can't seem to stop himself. he doesn't know how to stop himself.
after all, he's right. everyone hates him. it's evident in the party they've thrown for him. and the worst part thing is: it's his fault, and he knows it. he knows he's hurt all of these people, and even though he plays at callousness, he can't quite hide his hurt that stolas in particular won't hear him out. he can't hide his hurt that stolas can't seem to understand where blitz is coming from. because blitz does try to talk to stolas in apology tour. he tries to tell stolas what he's feeling, and how he regrets how he's spoken to stolas, but stolas is too drunk and too upset to care (which, btw, not blaming stolas for that. if i were a drinker, i'd be right there beside him).
stolas, in this moment, focuses entirely on himself and the pain that blitz put him through (again, not blaming stolas for that), but it tells blitz that stolas really, really does not care about him anymore, if he ever did. and wasn't that what blitz wanted? isn't that what blitz deserves? so it's easy to let a bigger, taller, more handsome, more suave imp sweep stolas off his feet and out of blitz's life. the imp is, by his t-shirt's estimation, "better than blitzo", after all. and don't they say that to love someone is to let them go?
verosika's advice to blitz only cements this. stolas is moving on. stolas deserves better. and blitz? all blitz deserves is to be used, so can he really be mad that some better imp is giving stolas what blitz never could? and again, blitz has dealt with the people he loves hating him before. his father sold him for $5. his best friend hated him for years. his sister still does. at least with stolas, he got the asmodean crystal out of it, and he won't lose the only semblance of companionship he has left.
3 - SOCIOECONOMIC CONTEXT
i saw a post that said that fans are focusing too much on the class difference between stolas and blitz, and i couldn't disagree more. in fact, i'd say that we are not focusing enough on the class difference between stolas and blitz.
all of stolas's ignorance is magnified tenfold by his lack of understanding of how their class and race difference colors their relationship. all of blitz's self-hatred and self-worth issues are exacerbated one-hundredfold by these same class and race differences.
classism and racism go hand in hand, especially in america. in helluva boss (and especially in the beginning of the stolitz dynamic), there is an implication of racial fetishization. blitz, the "lower-class" poor imp, fulfills stolas (an "upper-class" wealthy elite)'s fantasies of being "ravaged" and "taken" in his own home. stolas canonically enjoys the rough treatment, enjoys the taboo feeling of having blitz fuck him. it's very evocative of how some white american women fetishize and fantasize about black men— a fetish that has its roots in white supremacy (and especially the enslavement and ongoing oppression of black people in america.)
that said, in the context of helluva boss, it is very clear that blitz is aware of his socioeconomic standing the implications thereof— more aware than even stolas, who has ostensibly been educated on the social and economic nuances of the realm he helps to rule. he tries to tell stolas about how this difference in class affects him and amplifies his already awful self-worth ("you're a prince. it's hard to believe you would want me. that anyone would want me"), but stolas is incapable of hearing him.
all this to say, blitz is not solely to blame for their current relationship. that isn't to say that blitz is blameless. in fact, blitz isn't the most emotionally mature either— most of what i have written about him are things that i doubt he consciously realizes about himself. but stolas's ignorance and lack of willingness to consider where blitz is coming from, both emotionally and socioeconomically, make up a huge part of why stolitz continues to miscommunicate.
anyways. yeah. viv was right. things sure did happen.
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vergeltvng · 3 months ago
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SPOILERS for The Boys Season 4
I'm still processing the final episode but here are some of my random thoughts, in no particular order. It was a wild ride and I enjoyed it for the most part. The season had its lows for sure and I'll never forgive the writers for how they treated Hughie. I'm still fucking mad about everything they did to him after episode 5. I also felt like they wasted a lot of potential with Annie's arc. She's been through a lot after season 3 and I loved the idea of her having an identity crisis but it was just so poorly executed. It all felt messy and as if the writers had no conclusion in mind for both her and Hughie's plotlines. Unfortunately I couldn't find myself caring a lot about Frenchie's and Kimiko's subplots which is sad because I love these two. I was hoping they get to kill that bitch Little Nina and Kimiko getting her revenge on the SLLA. Both could have happened this season before they got separated in the end. Instead we've been put on hold to wait if these plots get resolved at all. Firecracker and Sage were great additions, I loved to hate Firecracker and Sage gives off endboss vibes for me. I still feel like she's gonna betray Homelander in the end. Can't wait for "phase two". A-Train's arc was great, he truly redeemed himself and him showing up at the flat iron to save the others was proof enough for me how serious he was about doing the right thing. I liked all of his scenes with MM, too. I loved Ashley this season, I hope she gains some badass powers and kicks everyone's ass. I've seen some complaints about Homelander being nerfed - are we watching the same show? He is fucking unhinged and more terrifying than ever. He is basically god by the end of the season and can (and will) do whatever the fuck he wants with no one in his way. Someone telling me that's not scary?! He is and always will be one of the best villains in tv history. Poor kid Ryan, he deserved better. How is he ever supposed to feel safe around Homelander and Butcher phrasing it that way was downright evil and manipulative towards the boy because he knew it would make Ryan feel insecure and cornered. Him pushing and killing Grace was in self-defense. His reaction afterwards however is concerning and I guess ambiguous for interpretation on purpose. I still don't get how some people in the fandom could hate on a 12 year old child so much, leave the kid alone.
Where do I start when it comes to Butcher? I have many thoughts and this text is already long but I'll give it a shot anyway. Obviously I'm biased because I love this man and will defend him to the very end. I think his arc was one of the better aspects, he is still one of the best written characters on the show. What I always loved about him was him being truly morally grey and the ambiguity in his words and actions. He cannot be trusted. I don't know if it's me but Karl's performance makes him actually a lot more likeable than he deserves. He is a bad person and I don't think this is negotiable. I have thought about this so many times in made-up scenarios and I stick with my opinion that there's no fixing him and there never was. I have tried to stay away from fandom discourse as much as I could for my own well-being but I don't get how people act surprised and as a result hate over his behavior and decisions. I think most were true to his character and also him killing Neuman made perfect sense and was a well-deserved payoff narratively. Not that I'm not mad at him for doing so! I loved Vicky and she was such an interesting character. But his final words in season 3 were "that bitch has to go" and one of his main goals across the whole season was to get that virus to kill her. He was absolutely clear about it and worked towards this goal on his own terms, not even under the influence of Kessler. Certainly Kessler pushed him to commit some of his atrocities but it matched with what he wanted himself. He drew the line when it came to supe genocide and was conflicted about it initially but one of his core themes is doing whatever it takes and losing his humanity on his chosen path. Since he is highly intelligent he knows very well what's wrong with him what emphasises even more that he actively chooses to do bad things rather than being impulsive and regretful afterwards. I personally loved his turn at the end and I am eager to see his villain arc. What's not to love about evil daddy?! I could go on about some of the dynamics between him and Kessler but I'll do that in another post maybe.
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kobbers · 4 months ago
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Hey there! Since you are a Leo fan I wanted to ask. What’s your opinion on Raph? I mean in general but I will say for 12 07 and 03 since those ass my favs.
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In general? I love Raph. His archetypal role tends to be one of my least favorites in ensemble casts: impulsive, moody bad boys tend to get on my nerves. I simply don't find their angst and lack of self control Cool or Relatable, no matter how tragic their past is to justify their antisocial behavior.
Raph's frustration, however, comes from a place I can easily sympathize with - his family is on their own and in constant danger. You often get the feeling that he'd like to be part of society in some way, but he can't and that's stifling! The result is a core drive to protect the small circle of family and friends he does have, no matter the cost.
Though the human world is too dangerous to interact with openly, Raph still sees humans as fellow People, and will readily intervene on their behalf. He leaps boldly into action in part because he worries that indecision and delay will give the enemy more time to cause harm (of course, he also finds combat fun and fulfilling, which may occasionally get him into trouble). He may grumble and complain, but at his core Raph is a helper.
My favorite versions of Raph are the ones where he and Leo are almost too similar underneath their wildly different demeanors. Their conflicts usually come down to how they want to approach their goal, not on which goal to approach.
In fact, there's an argument to be made that in D&D terms, my ideal Raph and Leo could both be cast as paladins, with Leo as Oath of Devotion (focused on honor and protecting the innocent) and Raph as Oath of Vengeance (focused on justice and punishing the wicked). Mirage Raph, on the other hand, is 100% a barbarian. So I mean, there's a range of viable interpretations, and the character can be well-written anywhere within it. It's just that the more selfish Raph is, the less I will connect with him.
2003
I thought Blue Swords Guy was the coolest turtle as a toddler, and when I started watching 2k3 as a teenager, my general preference for straightforward paragon types led me quickly back to Leo. I liked Raph the least almost instinctively, purely based on role. But the show won me over on every single brother, and I couldn't even begin to rank a least favorite anymore. Even at his worst early in the show, Raph is just struggling with impulse control rather than relishing violence or being contrary for its own sake. Sometimes he might enter a fight too early or resist retreat, but he rarely enters a fight unnecessarily. He might hide his squishier emotions, but he clearly still feels them. It lays down that core of Raph-as-protector that softens him from his more troubled, bloodthirsty Mirage counterpart. A good bean, 10/10 favorite Raph, heavily influences what I want to see from the character in general.
2007
The general vibes of this movie are similar to 2k3, which is why it sometimes surprises people that it's supposed to be in the live action film continuity as a sort of TMNT 4.
It's weird as a whole though, because Raph was the director's favorite turtle and it shows - Leo makes a poor foil because he is simply written to be wrong (I HATE his "I'm better than you" line for many reasons, heheh). But in terms of how Raph reacts to everything the story throws at him, it all rings true to character. He's my favorite character in this movie kind of by default, because Leo and Splinter are ~off~ and Mike and Don are mostly just on quip duty. But that doesn't change that Raph's still legitimately solid.
2012
Honestly can't say much about this version - I only made it a season into this show due to general annoyances I had with the writing. I remember liking Sean Astin's vocal performance, at least. And I remember digging the premise of that one episode where Raph tries to be the leader and finds that he's way more comfortable acting on plans than making them.
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oatlystrawberryicecream · 6 months ago
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In terms of canon Jason gets the short end of the stick in pretty much everything. He is just a player in other people’s stories for the most part. His entire stint as Robin of course but also Battle for the Cowl, Death of the Family, Gotham War, and yes even Under the Red Hood. All these (and many more!) feature Jason but they revolve around someone else. Under the Red Hood is at the end of the day a story about Batman. Just like in 9th grade english class: what is the conflict?Batman is trying to figure out how to stop the Red Hood from doing whatever it is he is going around killing people to do. Batman is the one whose actions decide how the story ends. It’s Batman’s story. Now for Jason comics: What is one of many common complaints about n52 rhato? Jason has to steal other people’s friends to prop him up. And yeah, this sucks, DC mangling other well established characters until they are suitably friend shaped to pair with Jason is not it. Another glaring problem (not just for n52 rhato) that doesn’t get talked about as much: Jason needs a villain. Or at least something more defined than the standard opposition to violence against innocents as a raison d’être. Every single thing they put out about him is so disconnected and hollow because they don’t know where he’s going or what he fights against. A long term villain gives him something to rally against and a way to show his ideals and convictions. It gives him a way to learn about himself by letting him see how he acts in various situations. I am pretty into Task Force Z. It works for me because the villain is someone we aren’t very familiar with so we can’t be sure what will mitigate the threat or where the plot is going. Don’t run it into the ground by bringing him back to exhaust every possible plot point. I like things that are underutilized better because you have the door open to bringing it back later on. Speaking of that, the All Blades don’t get enough love because the only thing they kill is a generic villain who don’t show any personality and we don’t get to see do much damage to stuff we are invested in. (I might be misremembering a little about the Untitled here because it has been a while since I read rhato) Black Mask is not Jason’s villain. He went down easily as part of Jason’s larger goal, he is not good enough to give that much trouble. I am of the opinion that DC should kill the Joker, or at least put him on the shelf for a couple decades. There is an element of personal bias there but for the most part his character is stale and overused. Every single thing he does makes me roll my eyes. I especially think that the Joker interacting with Jason is a dead end of a plot point. Unless Jason kills him I don’t care. Status quo is god. DC editorial don’t have the resolve to weather the storm and commit to change. Far too focused on immediate sales and short term interest when they could use some innovation. I suppose Batman could be his villain, it is certainly warranted. But I can’t figure out a version of it that works for me, Jason wants so many of the same things for Gotham that Bruce does. Them punching each other over differences in philosophies and the way they manifest in the field is not something we need more of.
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